Surface condenser.



PATENTED NOV. 2l, 1905.

L. R. ALBERGER.

SURFACE UONDENSBR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 804,912'. PATENTED NOV. 2l, 1905. L. R. ALBERGER. SURFACE GONDENSER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITEI) STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS R. ALBERGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ALBERGER CONDENSER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SURFACE CONDENSER.

Naso-1,912.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed July 28, 1904. Serial No. 218,445.

To m//l/ w/wm it may concer-71,:

Be it known that I, LoUIs R. ALBERGER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surface Condensers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the condensation of exhaust-steam and to the production of a vacuum by the use of the dry vacuum system, the invention being especially applicable to surface condensers.

The object of the invention is to promote efficiency and also to so construct the condenser that it may be suitable for location where other forms of condensers cannot be placed with equal facility.

In a surface condenser the greatest efliciency is obtainable by bringing the exhauststeam and the air comming'led therewith into the condenser below and by bringing the circulating water into the condenser above and causing the circulating water to pass through horizontal tubes exposed to the steam and causing the water of condensation to gravitate against the incoming steam and air, the air-being removed above by means of a dry vacuum-pump, and in this arrangement the water of condensation comes into. contact with the exhaust-steam, so that it is heated to a temperature practically equal to that of the exhaust-steam before it is removed from the condenser, and also the air by coming into contact with cold tubes is cooled immediately before being removed by the dry vacuum-pump. The high efiiciency attainable by this arrangement arises from the fact that where the steam enters at the bottom of the condenser the nests or batteries of tubes are arranged in a vertical series, each group or battery being composed of a plurality of horizontal tubes, and the terminal waterchambers employed for the purpose of connecting the ends of the tube-nests are separated by horizontal partitions in case there' is more than one such chamber at the end of a condenser. In my copending application 'filed July 28, 1904, Serial No.'2l8,444, I have shown how one form of surface condenser having steam entering at the bottom may be combined with another form having steam entering at the top in order to meet requirements of location; but there are other situations where it is not convenient to introduce steam above, as in the case of a topsteam-inlet condenser, or to introduce it below, as is the case With a bottom-steam-inlet condenser, but where in order to make the connections as short as possible and to economize space the steam-inlet should be on the side of the condenser. In order to accomplish this, I have devised a novel arrangement of nests or batteries of tubes with their cooperating terminal water-chambers, which nests or batteries of tubes are arranged in a horizontal series, each consisting of a plurality or group of horizontal tubes, and the end chambers used to connect these nests of tube being divided from each other by means of vertical partitions, it being thus possible for the water to enter at any point in thevertical heightJ of the first receiving water-chamber, so that it may be said that the circulating water enters the condenser either above or below or centrally, though it enters at the side opposite to the steam-inlet, and that the steam-inlet is central on one side, while the air-outlet is diametrically opposite to the steam-inlet and as far therefrom as convenient.

The invention therefore consists, essentially, in a condenser having two or more nests or batteries of tubes arranged in a horizontal series, each nest consisting of a group of water-cooled tubes and cooperating waterchambers likewise arranged at one or both ends of the condensers in a horizontal series, and also in a condenser consisting, essentially, of a shell containing a horizontal series of nests or batteries of tubes, a lateral steam-inlet, a lateral air-exit, and a lateral water-inlet, together with a lateral waterdiagrammatic way the location and arrangement of the vacuum-pump, the circulating and the hot-wellpumps.

Heretofore, as already stated, it has been outlet; and also the invention consists in va- IOO customary in surface condensers to arrange the nests, banks, or batteries of water-cooled tubes in a vertical series; but in my present improvements, for the reasons given, I ari range said nests or batteries of tubes in a horizontal series. This I have clearly delineated in the figures of the drawings. In these fi ures 40 denotes a cylindrical condenser-s ell having a lateral or side steaminlet 43, the same being preferably situated symmetrically with respect to the axis of the shell, although it is possible to shift it slightly to one side or to the other but I wish to preserve at all times the feature of a side inlet for the steam as contradistinguished from a top steam-inlet, which is above and obtains in some forms of condensers, and a bottom steam-inlet, which is below and obtains in other forms of condensers. Shell 40 need not necessarily be cylindrical, but can be rectangular or have any other desired form. Within the shell 40 are, for example, three nests or batteries of water-cooled tubes 47, 48, and 49, each group containing as many or as few tubes as desired. At one end of the shell 40 are the water-chambers 50 and 51, separated by a vertical partition, and at the other end of the shell 40 are the water-chambers 52 and 53, likewise separated by a vertical partition. The water-inlet 45 enters the water-chamber 53 at any point on the vertical side thereof, either near the bottom, as indicated in Fig. l, or near the top, or elsewhere, for it is evident that it is immaterial at what point in the vertical height of the water-chamber 53 the water enters it, inasmuch as said chamber delivers the water into the vertical tube-nest 49. The circulating pump 73 connects with the inlet 45 throu h the pipe 72, and thus the water is supplied to the condenser. The cooling-water thus introduced into the chamber 53 flows through the vertical tubenest 49 into the chamber 5l at the opposite end of the shell 40, and from the chamber 5l it passes back through the intermediate nest of tubes 48 to the water-chamber 52, whence it returns again through the nest 47 to the chamber 50 and finds an outlet from the condenser through the water-outlet 46, which obviously may be situated at any point in the vertical height of the chamber 50, for it is manifestly immaterial whether in the case of a vertical chamber of this kind the water has exit therefrom below, above, or at any intervening point. Thus in the particular example of the invention set forth in the drawings the water has three passes through the condenser. It may have any number of passes. The shell 40, moreover, is provided at a point diametrically opposite to the steminlet 43 and on the median line with the airoutlet 44, which communicates with the vacuum-pump 75 through the pipe 74. This airoutlet 44 may vary slightly in position; but

it is essential that it should be kept contiguous to the coldest tubes 49 in order that the air may be in contact with. said coldest tubes before removal, and so long as the exit 44 is thus close to the coldest tubes its precise location may be shifted up or down or moved within certain limits. Further, the shell 40 is provided with a bottom discharge-outlet 50 for the withdrawal of the water of condensation, a pipe being coupled thereto, which leads to a hot-well pump 7l.. Steam enters the shell 40 through inlet 43, and. the water of condensation falls to the bottom of the shell and is withdrawn through opening 50. It is obvious that the water condensed by contact with the tubes will be heated up by contact with the incoming exhaust-steam.

The general result attained by the con-l struction and arrangement of a horizontal series of nests or groups of water-cooled tubes is that of bringing the water of condensation into contact with the hot steam before removing the water from the condenser and of bringing the separated air into contact with the coldest tubes before removal, and in so doing the efficiency of the condenser is promoted and the highest possible efliciency is attained. It is immateriall how many passes the circulating water may make through the condenser, whether two or more, and I do not wish. to be confined or restricted to the precise arrangement and construction set forth, but reserve the liberty of varying all the details within as wide limits as may be desirable, provided only that the main object, as just stated, is attained. Moreover, it will be evident that the construction described or its equivalent may be. duplicated or multiplied and the construction caused to operate as a single condenser.

Having thus described my invention, what I .claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

l. In a surface condenser, for the condensation of exhaust-steam and the production of a vacuum, the combination with a condensing-chamber into which the exhauststeam is introduced at one side of the vertical median plane, of water-cooled tubes arranged in groups or nests in a horizontal series, and cooperating water chambers arranged in a horizontal series at the ends of the condensing-chamber, with which waterchambersthe nests of tubes connect, the exhaust-steam being brought first into Contact with substantially only the tubes of one group or nest.

2. In a surface condenser, for the condensation of exhaust-steam and the production of a vacuum, the combination with a condensing-chamber from which the air is withdrawn at one side of the vertical median plane, of water cooled tubes arranged in groups or nests in Aa horizontal series, and cooperating vertical water chambers ar- ICO ranged also in a horizontal series at the ends of the condensing-chamber, With Which Water-chambers the nests of tubes connect, the air being brought last before removal into contact With substantially only the tubes of one group or nest, the same being the coldest group.

3. In a surface condenser, a plurality of groups or batteries of Water-cooled tubes arranged in a horizontal series, each nest consisting of a plurality of horizontal tubes, in combination With vertical chambers at the ends of the tubes, said chambers being disposed in a horizontal series, similarto the groups of tubes With Which they connect, an inlet for the steam at one side of a vertical median plane through the condenser-shell,

through which inlet the steam is brought first into contact with substantially only the tubes of one group, and an exit for the air at the opposite side of the condenser on the other side of the vertical plane, the air being brought last into contact before removal With substantially onlyl the tubes of one group.

4. In a surface condenser, the combination of a shell having a steam-inlet on one side and an air-exit on the other side, a Water-inlet on the same side as the air-exit, and a Water-outlet on the same side as the steaminlet, a horizontal series of groups or batteries of Water-cooled tubes, a similar horizontal series of Water-chambers at one or both ends of the condenser communicating With the tubes, all arranged so that the Water of condensation is brought into contact With the exhaust-steam before removal and the air is brought into contact With the coldest tubes before removal.

5. ln a surface condenser, the combination of a shell containing tubes arranged in a horizontal series of groups, an air-outlet on one side of the condenser, a steam-inlet on the opposite side, an outlet at or near the bottom of the condenser for the Water of conon the same side of the condenser as the airoutlet, a dry vacuum-pump connecting With' the air-outlet, a circulating-pump connecting With the Waterinlet, and a hot-Well pump communicating with the discharge for the Water of condensation.

6. ln a surface condenser, having horizontal tubes containing cooling-Water, the combination of a lateral steam-inlet, an oppositely-situated air-outlet, a Water-inlet on the same side of the condenser as the air-outlet, said Water-inlet entering the condenser at any point in the vertical height of the same, a Water-outlet for the circulating Water on the same side of the condenser as the steam-inlet, said Water-outlet being at any point in the vertical height of the condenser.

7. ln av surface condenser, the combination With a shell having a steam-inlet .on one side, an air-exit on the opposite side, and a bottom outlet for the discharge of the Water of condensation, of a plurality of groups or batteries of Water-cooled tubes arranged in a horizontal series, a horizontal seriesofvertical Water-chambers at one or both ends of the condenser communicating With the tubes, a Water-inlet entering one of the end chambers, and a Water-outlet discharging from a chamber at the opposite end of the condenser, all arranged so that the exhauststeam entering the steam-inlet may be brought first into contact With substantially only the tubes of one group or nest, and so that the Water of condensation Will be in contact With the exhaust-steam immediately before removal, and the air. Will be in contact With the coldest tubes immediately before removal.

8. The combinationin a surface condenser, with a shell, having a steam-inlet at the side,

` and an air-exit at the side, said air-exit being separate from the steam-inlet, of horizontal Water-cooled tubes arranged in grou s that are situated in a horizontal series, t e lines of division between the series being vertical, and means for introducing the circulating Water into the tubes so that the coldest tubes or those into Which the Water is first introduced Will be nearest to the air-exit, While the warmest tubes or those through Which the Water makes the last pass will be nearest the steam-inlet.

9. ln a surface condenser for the condensation of exhaust-steam and the production of a vacuum, the combination With a shell having a steam-inlet at the side, and an air-exit at thesside, of horizontal Water-cooled tubes arranged inv a horizontal series, the lines of division between the groups being vertical, and means for circulating the Water first through one of the side groups and last IOO through the other side group in making the moval, and the air may be in contact with the coldest tubes before removal. y

10. In a surface condenser, the combination of a shell having a steam-inlet on one side of the vertical median plane and an aireXit on the other side, a Water-inlet on the same side of the vertical median plane as the air-exit, and a Water-outlet on the same side of said median plane as the steam-inlet, a horizontal series of groups or batteries of Wa- IIO ter-cooled tubes, a similar horizontal series of Water-chambers at one or both ends of the condenser communicating With the tubes, all arrangedl so that the Water of condensation is brought into contact With the exhaust-steam before removal and the air is brought into contact with the coldest tubes before removal. I

l1. In a surface condenser, the combina- ISO tion of a shell having a steam-inlet on one side of the vertical median plane and an aireXit on the other side, a horizontal series of groups or batteries of Water-cooled tubes, a similar horizontal series of Water-chambers at one or both ends of the condenser communicating with the tubes, all aranged so that the Water of condensation is brought into contact With the exhaust-steam before removal and the air is brought into contact with the coldest tubes before removal.

12. In a surface condenser, the combination of a shell having a steam-inlet on one side of the vertical median plane and an aireXit on the other side, a horizontal series of groups or batteries of Water-cooled tubes, means for introducing the circulating Water into the tubes, said means being on the same side of the vertical median plane as the aireXit, and means for receiving the Water from the tubes, said means being arranged on the same side of the vertical median plane as the steam-inlet.

13. In a surface condenser, for the condensation of exhaust-steam and the production of a vacuum, the combination with a condensing-chamber, of Water-cooled tubes arranged in groups or nests in a horizontal series, cooperating Water-chambers arranged in a similar horizontal series at one or both ends of the condenser and communicating with the nests of tubes, a steam-inlet-onY one side of the vertical median plane, and an air-exit on the other side of said plane.

14. In a surface condenser, for the condensation of exhaust-steam and the production of a vacuum, the combination With a condensing-chamber into which the exhauststeam is introduced on one side of the .vertical median plane, and from Which the air is Withdrawn on the other side of said median plane, of Water cooled tubes arranged in groups or nests in a horizontal series, means for introducing the cooling-Water into the tubes, said means being on the same side of the vertical median plane as that from Which the air is Withdrawn, and means for receiving the Water from the tubes, said means being arranged on the same side of the vertical median plane as that on Which the steam is introduced into. the condensing-chamber.

Signed at New York city this 26th day of July, 1904. Y

Louis R. ALBERGER.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. HAZELTON, I. HEIBERG. 

